Trump’s Voting Rights: The Florida Loophole

Despite a felony conviction, Donald Trump, residing in Florida, retains his right to vote due to New York's disenfranchisement rules. Florida respects other states' voting laws, allowing Trump to vote as long as he avoids prison time. This highlights the complexities and variations in voting laws across states.

Donald Trump may be convicted of a felony and reside in Florida, a state notorious for restricting the voting rights of people with felony convictions. But he can still vote as long as he stays out of prison in New York state.

That's because Florida defers to other states' disenfranchisement rules for residents convicted of out-of-state felonies. In Trump's case, New York law only removes the right to vote for people convicted of felonies when they're incarcerated. Once they're out of prison, their rights are automatically restored, even if they're on parole, per a 2021 law passed by the state's Democratic legislature.

"If a Floridian's voting rights are restored in the state of conviction, they are restored under Florida law," Blair Bowie of the Campaign Legal Centre wrote in a post explaining the state of law, noting that people without Trump's legal resources are often confused by Florida's complex rules.

So as long as Trump isn't sent to prison, he can vote for himself in Florida in November's election.

Trump was convicted on Thursday of falsifying business records in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through hush money payments to a porn actor who said the two had sex.

A lifelong New Yorker, Trump established residency in Florida in 2019, while he was in the White House.

Even if he is elected president again, Trump will not be able to pardon himself of state charges in New York. The president's pardon power applies only to federal crimes.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)